Conflict with the United States and the Capitalist West (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Conflict with the United States and the Capitalist West
Wartime summit conferences and emerging tensions
The wartime summit conferences reflected latent disagreements between the United States, Great Britain and the USSR, though these tensions were initially masked by the shared goal of defeating Nazi Germany.
Tehran (November 1943)
At Tehran in 1943, the Allies agreed to demand unconditional surrender from Germany, not because Britain and the US thought this was wise (they did not) but to prevent any of them from making a separate peace with Hitler. There were ideological differences between the allies, and Stalin was highly critical of his Western allies not opening a 'Second Front' in the European war to relieve pressure on the Red Army.
Yalta (February 1945)
The meeting between Stalin and Churchill in Moscow late in 1944 was plagued by disagreements over the future of Poland. The Yalta conference in February 1945 was dominated by conflicting ideas about the post-war borders of Germany and Poland. At Yalta, arrangements were agreed for Germany to be placed under zones of occupation, but Stalin pushed hard for recognition of Soviet interests in Poland and new Polish-German borders which recognised Soviet gains in what had formerly been part of Poland.
Stalin played on divisions between Roosevelt, who was more conciliatory, and Churchill. It was clear at Yalta that Roosevelt was dying - he died in April 1945 and was replaced as US president by Harry Truman. This shift in American leadership would have significant implications for post-war relations.
Potsdam (July/August 1945)
The Potsdam conference in July/August 1945 ended with no final peace agreement. Differences that had been papered over, or just delayed, at Yalta became more urgent. By this time, it was clear how the USSR was asserting political control over the countries it had liberated. Stalin was also now the 'senior partner' of the three allies: Roosevelt had died, Churchill had lost power after the Labour Party won a landslide victory in Britain's general election, and Clement Attlee took over from Churchill midway through the conference. The shift in the balance of power at Potsdam further strained relations.
The breakdown of East-West relations (1946-1949)
Between 1946 and 1949, conflict between the Soviet bloc and the capitalist West hardened into Cold War confrontation. Attempts at diplomatic cooperation broke down amid growing mutual suspicions and hostility, driven by a series of disagreements and escalating tensions.
The main developments that marked this transformation included:
- Soviet expansionism and the USSR's demand for recognition of its right to have a safe 'buffer zone' against future aggression
- The Long Telegram: a report sent to Washington from Moscow by American diplomat George Kennan in February 1946, urging the US to take action to contain the spread of communism in Europe
- Winston Churchill's speech at Fulton, Missouri in March 1946 warning of the existence of an 'iron curtain' dividing Europe
- The announcement of the Truman Doctrine in March 1947, committing the US to a policy of containment
- The Marshall Plan for US aid for European economic recovery, and the hostile Soviet response to the Plan
- The Berlin Blockade of 1948 to 1949, hardening the division of Germany
- The formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949, establishing an Atlantic Alliance for the defence of Europe that the USSR viewed as hostile
Stage 1: The Long Telegram and the Iron Curtain speech
The Long Telegram (February 1946)
US fear of Soviet expansionism was exacerbated by a telegram sent to Washington from Moscow in February 1946, by American diplomat George Kennan. Kennan was a long-serving American expert on Soviet affairs who had been sent to Moscow after the war. The report became known as the Long Telegram.
Kennan analysed the Soviet leadership's worldview, arguing that at the bottom of the Kremlin's neurotic perspective lay traditional and instinctive insecurity. He suggested that Soviet leaders were driven by necessities of their own past and present position to put forward a worldview that pictures the outside world as evil, hostile and menacing, but as bearing within itself germs of creeping disease and destined to be torn by internal convulsions until defeated by the rising power of socialism and giving way to a better world.
Kennan argued that this outlook provided justification for the increase of military and police power in the Russian state, isolation of Russia's population from the outside world, and constant pressure to extend Russian police power. He warned that in the new guise of international Marxism, with its honeyed promises to a desperate and war-torn world, Soviet ideology was more dangerous and insidious than ever before.
Churchill's Iron Curtain speech (March 1946)
The horror with which the capitalist West viewed what was happening in eastern Europe was made clear in a speech delivered by British ex-Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Fulton, Missouri in the USA in March 1946. Churchill claimed that an Iron Curtain had descended across Europe. He spoke of 'communist fifth columns' in western and southern Europe and advised 'strength' in dealing with the USSR.
Iron Curtain: Winston Churchill's speech at Fulton in 1946, warning of the extent of Soviet power and influence in east central Europe, used this term to give his warnings maximum dramatic impact. The phrase captured Western fears about the division of Europe and became a defining metaphor of the Cold War.
Stalin's response (March 1946)
Stalin viewed Churchill's speech as a dangerous act aimed at sowing discord between allied states. In an interview with the Soviet newspaper Pravda in March 1946, just days after the Fulton speech, Stalin defended Soviet actions. He argued that Churchill's attack on democratic systems of European states neighbouring the USSR and their good-neighbourly relations with the Soviet Union was a mismatch of slander, rudeness and tactlessness.
Stalin justified Soviet losses - approximately 7 million people killed in the German invasion, many driven into German slavery - and argued that Soviet sacrifices had ensured liberation of Europe from Hitler's yoke. He questioned whether it was really surprising that the Soviet Union sought to ensure governments in neighbouring countries maintained loyal attitudes.
Stalin claimed communist influence had grown because during the dark days of fascist domination, communists were trustworthy and bold fighters against fascism, for the freedom of the peoples.
Stage 2: Containment and the Marshall Plan
Western European crisis and the Truman Doctrine (March 1947)
By early 1947, Western Europe faced crisis, with fears of complete economic collapse and political instability. Communist parties were particularly strong in Italy and France, whilst Greece was experiencing civil war. In March 1947, the Truman Doctrine asserted the new US policy of 'containment' and 'rolling back' of communism.
Containment: the 'Truman Doctrine' of March 1947 asserted the need to contain (that is, halt and keep within limits) the spread of Soviet communist influence. This marked a fundamental shift in US foreign policy from wartime cooperation to active opposition to Soviet expansion.
The Marshall Plan (June 1947)
In June 1947, the United States put forward the Marshall Plan: a massive injection of aid to rebuild Europe. The plan was supposedly a generous offer of assistance open to all European countries, East as well as West, but many historians believe the Marshall Plan was a political weapon, deliberately designed to extend American influence rather than purely humanitarian relief.
Stalin was convinced the Plan was fundamentally hostile to Soviet interests, part of a drive towards US economic and political dominance. He expressed particular fears that the US would rebuild the industrial economy of Western Germany, leading to a resurgence of German power. Soviet bloc countries were pressured to reject Marshall Aid.
The communist takeover in Czechoslovakia (February 1948)
In February 1948, Kliment Gottwald, leader of the communists in Czechoslovakia, took full control of the government. The West regarded events in Czechoslovakia as a 'communist coup' backed by the USSR. For Stalin and Czech communists, it was 'Victorious February', the legitimate success of 'anti-fascist' politics. The timing of the coup in Czechoslovakia intensified splits between East and West over the Marshall Plan.
Soviet rejection of the Marshall Plan (September 1947)
Soviet deputy foreign minister Andrei Vyshinsky outlined his government's response to the Marshall Plan in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September 1947. He argued that the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan were glaring examples of how the principles of the United Nations were being violated and ignored.
Vyshinsky claimed the United States government had moved towards direct renunciation of international collaboration and concerted action by the great powers, attempting to impose its will on other independent states. He accused the US of using economic resources distributed as relief to pressure needy nations into complying with political aims.
Moreover, Vyshinsky characterised the plan as an attempt to split Europe into two camps and, with British and French help, to complete formation of a bloc of several European countries hostile to the interests of democratic countries of Eastern Europe and particularly to Soviet interests.
Stage 3: The Berlin blockade and hardening Cold War divisions
Context of the Berlin crisis (1948)
The communist takeover in Czechoslovakia set the context for the Berlin crisis of 1948. A clear separation existed between the Soviet Zone and the British-American-French zones in the West. Berlin, however, was an 'island' within the Soviet Zone, and Stalin had always seen Berlin as a single city where Soviet interests ought to be paramount. He was frustrated by how Soviet control of Berlin had slipped since 1945, and was especially alarmed by the introduction of a separate currency in the Western zones in June 1948.
The Berlin blockade (June 1948-May 1949)
The day after the new Western currency was introduced, Stalin launched the Berlin blockade, cutting off all road and rail links between Berlin and the West. Stalin believed the blockade was a trump card. He calculated, rightly, that Western powers were not willing to risk war. The economic squeeze on West Berlin would force the US into settling the Berlin question on Soviet terms.
Stalin's plan was defeated by the Berlin Airlift, coordinated by the US military governor General Lucius Clay. A massive operation by Allied aircraft flew essential supplies into West Berlin throughout the winter of 1948-1949. Clay had calculated, rightly, that Stalin would not risk war by shooting Allied planes out of the sky. The population of West Berlin resisted Soviet pressure and inducements. After 318 days, Stalin called off the blockade in May 1949.
Formation of the Cold War order (1949)
The end of the Berlin blockade in 1949 confirmed the division of Germany and of Berlin. This was the year the Cold War became fully formed. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was formed to defend Western Europe against Soviet aggression. The first successful test of the Soviet atomic bomb was announced, ending the US nuclear monopoly.
In China, the long civil war ended with the victory of the Chinese Communist Revolution. This caused shock and dismay in the United States and hardened anti-communist attitudes. Stalin met the Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Moscow to agree a treaty of alliance. Conflict between the USSR and its allies against the US and the capitalist West had become the established norm - not quite war, not quite peace. This state of affairs remained until 1989.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- The breakdown of the wartime alliance proceeded through clear stages: the Long Telegram and Iron Curtain speech (1946) identified Soviet expansionism as a threat; the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (1947) committed the US to containment; and the Berlin blockade (1948-1949) hardened Cold War divisions.
- The 1948 communist coup in Czechoslovakia was a turning point, intensifying Western fears and leading directly to the Berlin crisis and formation of NATO in 1949.
- Stalin viewed Western policies, especially the Marshall Plan and the creation of a separate West German currency, as hostile acts designed to encircle the USSR and rebuild German power, justifying his aggressive response through the Berlin blockade.
- By 1949, the Cold War structure was fully established with the division of Germany, formation of NATO, Soviet acquisition of atomic weapons, and the Chinese Communist Revolution creating a bipolar world order that lasted until 1989.